My Fair Lady.

dinner party (wallflower) club || oliviaine

mxrainewhispers

Raine didn't know what convinced them to go to dinner party club. Whether it was Mena asking nicely and their desire to not seem rude or because they really just needed something to do and people to be around, it didn't really matter. Because now they were here.

But thankfully Mena--who was talking to a lot of people--wasn't the only familiar face. They found themself by Olivia.

Raine lets out a small laugh at that comment. "She's been trying to for a while. I kept using the excuse of not knowing what to bring, but she finally said I should just come by and see what it was like commitment free." They had still brought some different beverages of course, they didnt' want to show up empty handed.

"I haven't tried one yet, but they look good," Raine says looking Olivia's way. "So I take it this is your first time coming to Dinner Party Club?"

@lady-etiquettes

#ch: raine whispers #th: dinner party (wallflower) club #/ i don't know why but all my muses have the urge to bully moon

"Finally?" Olivia asks, brow raised humorously. "I swear she's been offering that I could come without a contribution since I moved here." It's nearly been six-months now, hasn't it? That felt strange to Olivia. Time, to her, really hadn't mattered much. Every person in her department had looked forward to the end of the week with anticipation. The semester. The year.

Olivia couldn't be bothered to. Every year was the same. It wasn't as if there was really an end.

Yes, Olivia could make as many TGIF jokes as the rest of her office mates, but the idea of there really being an "end" to any phase of her life felt odd. It just kept going and going on rotation, in a circle. It was a cycle, with no start or end besides to mark where spokes might be on an ever-renewing wheel.

Olivia smiles at Raine, though, holding up a glass of weak wine. "It is, indeed. I've been told that it's spectacular, but I really wasn't aware of just how... involved... this club has been." Olivia inclines her head.

It seemed that the hostess had gotten carried away, which Olivia wasn't sure was due to there being new people or not. She assumes not, seeing as there was no guarantee Olivia or Raine would show up.

"I mean. Roast chicken and Beef Wellington?" Olivia glances over. "And at least six types of pastry, does this woman even have a job?"

@mxrainewhispers

othellho

Bernadette Noll

#type: inspo

So Last Season || Oliviana

alana-the-brilliant

Alana nodded. She wasn’t offended at all. In fact, like she’d said to Olivia, this was useful. Very useful.

Of course, she would bring the perspective of someone younger. The dress was very cute, but there was something a little youthful about it that did not exactly scream professor at Pride University.

“So this one is a similar color and fabric, but the cut is different,” she said, pulling up another light blue velvet number. “But this other one’s a totally different cut and fabric — there’s a pattern situation going on too.”

It wasn’t a pattern Lana would’ve chosen for herself, but she thought it definitely looked elegant and dignified.

@lady-etiquettes

#ch: alana triton #th: so last season #/ I sincerely apologize for how delayed this was

Olivia looked over the options and her eyes sparkled for a moment (maybe too much?) at the -- floral? Brocade? The square neckline. The ribbons on the sleeves. The slit. It was conservative in ways Olivia liked, not so much in others. And the color was lovely, reminding her of the outfit she liked so much from that work event.

"Oh, this one," Olivia says, admiring it. "I really love the pattern of it. The situation that you mentioned."

She mulls over the light blue velvet and tilts her head. "I like the neckline of it, but perhaps not the sleeves? And I don't know how I feel about velvet."

Honestly, Olivia didn't think she was a picky person, but maybe that's because she constantly worre the same things. There wasn't much to be picky over.

"I like this direction that we're headed," Olivia admits. "I don't think I've gone clothing shopping in a long time." And never with anyone else, though she doesn't say that, she recognizes this is Alana's job.

@alana-the-brilliant

winter's turning || golden branch

goldenxqueenclarion

Ingary. A sorcerer, then.

She hadn't outwardly reacted when Clarion mentioned that she was from the forest, so hopefully one of the ones more accustomed to fairies and without that pesky bias that so often put fairies and sorcerers at odds. It wasn't as prevalent here in Swynlake, but occasionally you had members of either group who arrived that clung tightly to their preconceived notions about the other. Clarion tried to discourage it in her fairies when she could, but she couldn't do anything about the other side.

"I'm sure the university is happy to have you while they can," Clarion offered with an easy, gentle smile. "You'd be surprised how many professors have come through those doors from Ingary."

Olivia asked another question, and the suspicious part of her brain that had taken hold after Atta had been attacked wanted to dodge it. Why would this woman need to know her schedule? It was paranoid, and Clarion waved it away without fully dismissing it.

"Oh, I come in to town occasionally to check on things," she said vaguely. "Especially in the winter." It was easy for fairies to get stuck under the drifts of snow if they weren't careful, and Clarion had to rescue a handful of fairies each year. Usually the younger ones who didn't know better than to fly under eaves with piles of snow. Or by the Ice Queen full-stop. Elsa could produce as much snow as a dozen flurry-talent fairies when she put her mind to it.

"There's plenty of interesting people to see in Swynlake if you're willing to look."

@lady-etiquettes

#Ch: queen Clarion #Th: winter's turning

Olivia could tell by the way Clarion's thoughts began to turn that this may end up being another situation where Olivia would be a disappointment. Though, to Olivia, that meant not being a sorcerer. Olivia was sensitive to the fact but tried not to let it bog her down too much. Still, it did. That insecurity bobbed on the surface of her thoughts at nearly all times.

"Well, I hope so. I like the University so much, and it'd be quite awkward to have to find another job mid year," she adds as a joke. Though, the truth of it was... a bit uncomfortable. So far she'd managed her work, but it was still difficult to feel like she was worth her position. She's never been made to feel like she was worth much at all.

Olivia nods and wants to joke that she's not like others from Ingary, but that's... "Oh, are there?" Olivia asks. "I don't think I've met many, but there have been some. I'm afraid we never shared previous employers though." Because, really, how big was NewtU?

She can sense she's said something wrong, but what? Olivia does not know. She smiles as the Queen explains herself. "Well, it's good that you look out for your ... Subjects? Is that rude to say? I know far too many people in positions of authority who may not be as involved as yourself."

@goldenxqueenclarion

dinner party (wallflower) club || oliviaine

#ch: raine whispers #Th: dinner party (wallflower) club

Olivia had been invited a handful of times to Dinner Party Club. Half the time it was hosted on Floor 2 of Castle Suites, which made invites all the harder to refuse. Somehow she always managed to run into some member or another in the lobby, though usually the host herself which led to a series of polite excuses that had been accepted with a "next time."

Well, next time was now and Olivia was hovering near the back with who was maybe another victim of Lobby Solicitation.

"She got you, too?" Olivia asks, standing near the window, back against the wall. "Don't tell me if you don't like the chocolate chip cookies. Actually, lie to me, please, if you don't."

She says it all with a smile, watching the people at the party mill about and chat, share stories. Olivia knows she's not the most social. But, from their previous experiences, neither was Raine.

@mxrainewhispers

dinner party (wallflower) club || oliviaine

Organized Chaos || Malivia

Mal's eyebrows rose briefly, looking at the snacks that had been brought out of the cupboard. "Sure, why not." She wouldn't refuse office hospitality. She grabbed a biscuit, "Thanks."

Despite the fact that Mal had been referring to things other than the students banging down her door for whatever tasks, she just bit into the biscuit and nodded, chewing as she thought a minute before swallowing it down.

"And beyond the students? Functions? Upcoming weekend plans? Hot dates?" She flashed a smile at the last one. Collette had informed her that Olivia was in fact quite into women, however, was not prone to much of a love life. That interested the firefighter.

"Chippa's down the road. I can't be gone too long from the station, but I wanted to run out and see her while I could." The corners of her mouth upturned a bit at the mention of seeing her girlfriend. It had been over 6 months at this point of them officially dating and over a year since they'd gone on their first date, but Collette still had that particular effect on her. Making her smile from absolutely nothing but the mention of her.

@lady-etiquettes

#ch: mal mchale #th: organized chaos

Mal might have been referring to things other than students and work but the truth was, really, Olivia didn't have much else going on. How was Olivia doing? Well, there wasn't much to discuss. She didn't do anything besides work, not really.

"Oh, erm--" Olivia starts, when pressed, "Well, I don't really have any of that. I don't really do anything that's not tangentially related to work." Most of the people she spent time with were coworkers, even if they weren't in the same department. "I mean, I'll go for a drink now and again but I don't have anything planned."

Olivia laughs a bit and shakes her head.

She's glad when the subject shifts. Olivia would rather listen to other people. She certainly did enough of it working under Andrias.

"Ah, I like Chippa's," Olivia says, "usually can read a book while being in the ambient environment of other people. Socializing without socializing."

@mal-mchale

Post Work Cooldown || Bolivia

Olivia asked a pretty natural question when Boo made that comment, one she could probably have seen coming. Still, she hadn't anticipated it and she could feel the shift in the conversation that came along with it.

Luckily, Jared came back with their drinks just in time for Surprise Lore Drop Olivia Definitely Wasn't Expecting. Mary knew she could lie or gloss over it. That was probably the polite thing to do. She'd never been that interested in being polite over being honest.

"It mostly sucked. It's tough to be the new kid at the best of times, a lot harder when you're having to move to a new town or a new city every 2 years max. Add in a demon obsession and I wasn't exactly the popular kid. But hey, doing my degree here is the longest I've lived in the same place in basically my whole life so I get the novel experience that way. I've even managed to keep a roommate for 2 years which is a minor miracle," she chuckled.

@lady-etiquettes

#ch: mary 'boo gibbs #th: post work cooldown

Oh. It's surprising, but Olivia nods along as Boo explains. Its interesting how something Olivia had always thought was so fascinating was so negative to Boo. But, then again, Olivia liked reading. She knew that being 'the new kid' could be awful in books and was a major point of angst. Seemed it wasn't too far off from real life.

Olivia smiles warmly, sipping on her drink for a moment as she considers what it is that Book has said.

"I wouldn't have expected," Olivia admits, quietly. "But I'm grateful that you were honest with me, all the same. I feel like there's always a barrier people have with me when it comes to being honest. Usually because I come across so proper or whatnot that people would rather be nice than be truthful." She shakes her head. "I think that's why I was interested in having a drink with you, honestly. I didn't think I'd spend an hour at a bar being dishonest or fake."

Even if she had been cagey about her answer earlier about moving, she had been honest about needing to get out of Ingary. And that was, sometimes, harder to admit than the tangential career advancement.

"When do you finish your degree, then?"

@boointhenight

classicalcanvas

Water Lilies painted by Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)

#Type: inspo

Organized Chaos || Malivia

"Ah, there's the catch. I knew I was forgetting something." Mal said like it was a revelation that she wasn't enrolled in this institution. She had been once. But that seemed like ages ago at this point.

"Olivia, I merely wanted to see my two favorite women in the same day." Mal flashed a cheeky little grin, sitting back in her chair and crossing one leg at the ankle over her knee. Flirtation was fun, harmless really.

Olivia was someone who was a bit of a mystery to Mal. So buttoned up, it was honestly surprising that Collette, who made a habit of unbuttoning everything had become so close to her.

As her girlfriend, she felt it was her sworn duty to get to know her friends. "But yes, I'm just a little too early for our lunch date and I've learned its really not the wisest thing to distract her while she's teaching."

"What are you up to, anyways? Aside from the work that I've so obviously distracted you from."

@lady-etiquettes

#ch: mal mchale #th: organized chaos

Olivia hardly thought she could be counted as one of Mal's favorite women. Even one of her more liked ones. Mal seemed like the same type of person that Olivia's ex was. A sort of sporty, jock-type. Not to say that jock-types were bad on their own. It was just an association that Olivia couldn't quite shake when it came to Mal McHale.

"No, I imagine letting her finish her class would be wise," Olivia says with a friendly and knowing smile. She stands, goes to her cupboard and produces a small tray of snacks. Something she always has on hand, of course (at least in her office.) "Biscuit?"

Mal had said she and Collette were going for lunch. That was nice. Olivia always packed hers, it seemed.

"Me? Well, I've got a number of students desperately e-mailing me about their last-minute course requests. It's only a week and change into the term and already the number of seniors who have come to me has been, well, alarming. But it's not really my business to tell them your business." She neatly folds the papers back into her drawer. "Where are you and Ms Richards going to lunch, then?"

@mal-mchale

Organized Chaos || Malivia

Mal was early, she knew this, but it was a weird amount of time to just leave and then come back. And on the off chance her girlfriend ended her class early, she wanted to be around.

Some may say, Mal McHale is whipped. She, however, would ignore said comment because it is completely true. Her girlfriend was hot, what did you want from her?

In any case, she had other people to bide her time with. One of which was the admin down the way, Olivia. She'd talked with her briefly before, met through Collette, but now was the perfect time to get to know her a bit better and to keep herself from watching the clock.

Approaching the desk, Mal slid herself into a chair in front of it with a smile causing her dimples to appear, "Excuse me, I'd like to drop all my classes and change my major to underwater basket weaving."

@lady-etiquettes

#ch: mal mchale #th: organized chaos

Olivia hadn't even seen Mal coming. They'd met once or twice, a few friendly smiles before Olivia scurried away, the thought of even momentarily third-wheeling (or worse, being a pest) mortifying to her. Love was for other people, after all.

When Mal did sit across from her, Olivia's eyes widened slightly and she's looked up from the drop/add slips she'd been comparing for the term.

"Oh, Mal. Good to see you again," she'd said. "Well, to drop all your classes, first you'd need to be enrolled in some." She laughs. "Is Collette teaching now? I can't imagine you'd come here just for little ol' me." A joke, of course. And a friendly one at that. (Flirting was off-limits and Olivia was bad at it anyways.)

@mal-mchale

Post Work Cooldown || Bolivia

"Yeah, that's what I figured. Still. I did always want to reward the honesty just because it's pretty rare. I'll have to keep an eye on them later."

Oh. Huh. Mary had never really thought about that. She was so used to Mundus being the dominant in every situation that the world was just sort of catered towards that and it felt natural. Even here in Swynlake where the Magick population was pretty high, there was still an expectation that everything would cater towards Mundus in some way. She'd brought it up in her class and felt pretty educated about it.

But there were places that were different. Places like Ingary where magic was a way of life and the people so embedded it was impossible to do without them. In that case, yeah. She could see why you'd need a break from even a place you loved.

"I'd say I can imagine, but we both know that's a lie. Still, it makes sense. One thing Swynlake has going for it is that it's pretty different from anywhere else. I moved around a lot as a kid, and there was nothing that felt like this. Still no shortage of magic to keep things interesting, but we just have a lot of different people here."

@lady-etiquettes

"I can understand that," Olivia says, nodding. "I appreciate when students are honest with me about things. Usually it's about drop/add deadlines for courses, and as long as they've not surpassed the financial deadline, I'm happy to do what I can for them."

If it was out of Olivia's hands, it was what it was, but the Newtopia University Anthro Department was pretty small. Olivia grew, perhaps, a bit too fond of her students and made a few too many allowances. Not that Andrias minded. As long as he had a department and could wax poetic in his classes, he seemed quite content.

"It's just different," Olivia says in a non-judgmental way. "I get it, Ingary isn't most places, and many people seem surprised when I bring up that sorcery is the dominant lifestyle. It's alright. What was it like moving around as a child? I've lived in the same neighborhood my entire life until now. Was it exciting? Nerve-wracking?"

@boointhenight

#th: post work cooldown

Recipe for December || Oliviaine.

mxrainewhispers

"That sounds like a good plan," they chuckle. And it seemed their interaction was maybe coming to a close for now. Until she stops and looks at them again.

"Oh, um, yeah," they nod. "Floor four. I didn't realize you lived there as well--I need to pay better attention to my surroundings." They laugh lightly at themself.

"Hey, that'll make working on this easier, since we're neighbors and all." Raine hoped that wasn't presumptive but then again, Olivia brought it up.

@lady-etiquettes

#ch: raine whispers #th: recipe for december

"It's easy, with proximity to the - well, the University. Can't complain about the commute," Olivia says. Still... "Floor six. And it's quite alright. I don't do the... well, I usually don't stick around common areas. I tend to stay in my office or flat."

Olivia had gotten quite used to making herself scarce. She knew how to evade people if she needed to, which was a welcome skill in Ingary. And in the department office if she needed to escape Andrias's attention. Sometimes she just needed to work in peace without incessant chatter about Flipwart.

"Do you drink, Professor Whispers? You should come by for a drink. Nothing like a drunk Pinterest party to keep you entertained. Though, if that's not your style, I can come up with something else."

@mxrainewhispers

gecelerhepseninleiyi

#type: mirror #type: inspo

Post Work Cooldown || Bolivia

Oh. Right. Not everyone spent time on the same corners of the internet she did - she just kind of assumed it was one of those things that everyone knew by virtue of being a person.

"Ah, maybe? Fanfic is short for fanfiction. You know, a story someone is writing about a show or a movie or a book or something like that." She'd never written fanfic and posted it anywhere herself, but who didn't like a little Billy/Stu fic every now and then? (Okay there were probably people out there who weren't into that, but she figured it sucked to be them and she just had good taste.)

What did confuse her a little bit was the way Olivia seemed startled by the question. Mary had figured that was kind of a softball 'get to know you' question. But the answer only made her more curious. Smirkign slightly, she said, "I guess I could call it that. If we're not using buzzwords do we get a new answer?"

@lady-etiquettes

#th: post work cooldown #ch: mary 'boo' gibbs

Olivia rarely was on the internet for fun. Well, besides Pinterest. But other than that, Olivia went on the internet to browse books and recipes. Everything else felt work related.

Fanfic, she supposed, was something she could look into. If she were interested in shows or movies, perhaps? They weren't her favorite way to pass the time, but she'd put on a drama or two in the background at times.

Olivia nods along. "Sounds like a reasonable hobby, maybe not a reasonable excuse." She smiles at the thought, though. Olivia wrote sometimes. A lot, actually. Mostly by hand in notebooks. She liked the idea of writing stories, and it was cathartic, too. Just short snippets and ideas, really. It would be easier to type them, but eh, she could type them later. She wasn't really wanting to spend all her time on the computer.

Another thing Olivia wasn't sure of was the way Mary was looking at her. With amusement? The thing about it was that Olivia was terrible at lying. She was a very open person about most things in her life. Maybe not the reason for being here, or the situation with her family, but Olivia did try to uphold some of the values her parents set on her. Openness and trust and all those noble things.

To lie about why she was here, even by omission, always felt wrong.

Buzzwords.

Because I feel like I'm some sort of spy, she wants to say but doesn't.

"If we're being entirely honest," which Olivia is not, "I loved my previous position, but it was a bit hard being magickless in a sorcerer society." Maybe there was some truth to it. "Took some time off to get away, got a job here... I don't now if I'll stay, I love NewtU. It's also one of the only 'real' places I've worked and I needed to do something different or I'd crack."

@boointhenight

gingerbread game plan // colivia

collette-richards

Collette was ready to get festive!

Just as Olivia rushed in she simply waved her to join. It was so easy to trust your coworkers. They were really making a little family.

“Oh you have know idea!” Collette knew what Olivia was going through. “The drama department is full of drama queens and kings!”

Part of her wanted to ask more about who and what. You know to know the tea but she refrained. Not everyone was into all of that gossip!

Interjecting before anyone else could she flipped over her planner where she jotted down ideas. “I think we could each build a part that shows our departments! Or I was thinking a vintage gothic idea! Or…” she giggled again “I think we could literally just make it mimic our favorite part of the university and just make it out of candy confections!”

Surprisingly she wasn’t out of breath as she kept talking and talking.

@lady-etiquettes